Android 13 QPR3 finally fixes a long-standing Pixel Launcher annoyance

While there are plenty of feature-rich launchers for Android, it’s hard to beat Google’s Pixel Launcher thanks to its superior At a Glance widget experience. It automatically displays the battery level of connected devices, pulls timer and stopwatch information from the Clock app, and more. But the Pixel Launcher isn’t perfect: One annoying problem is that the app drawer’s opening animation isn’t as smooth as it should be. This is especially evident if the “Always show keyboard” setting is enabled when the app drawer is opened with a swipe-up. However, Google could finally address this issue in the next quarterly Pixel Feature Drop.

Spotted by our tipster Eduardo, Pixel Launcher’s app drawer opening in the first Android 13 QPR3 beta is noticeably smoother. This is most obvious if the “Always show keyboard” option is enabled. On Android 13 QPR2, the keyboard appears after the app drawer appears, which can be annoying when you’re busy searching for an app. In Android 13 QPR3, the keyboard appears at the same time as the app drawer, as it should always have.

Left: Pixel Launcher app drawer opening animation in Android 13 QPR2; Right: Smoother animation in QPR3

The faster and smoother app drawer animation is also present in Android 14 DP2. While this may seem like a small change, it has a huge impact on usability.

Thanks to the smoother animation in QPR3 beta 1, the keyboard will appear earlier while accessing the app drawer, leading to a better experience. Google is also testing a new popup animation for the Pixel Launcher, which was first seen in Android 14 DP2.

You can get an overview of other minor design changes and everything else that’s new in Android 13 QPR3 here. To experience these changes on your Pixel, sign up for the Android 13 beta program and install the latest QPR beta. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until the next quarterly Pixel Feature Drop lands, which is in June 2023.

Thanks: Eduardo Ribeiro!